Jimi Hendrix

“He said that he wanted to see me play and he cancelled a show that night to see me play. As creative as he was, he didn’t have to miss no show to see nobody! Man, that guy did so much for guitarists… you can’t find a guitar player in the world who hasn’t used one of his licks, including myself.” — Buddy Guy

Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers was one of many artists inspired by Jimi; he told CBS Local that in the short period that Hendrix made records (1966-1970) “Musically, he changed the whole landscape, he was doin’ things that nobody was doin’.” While much has been said about Hendrix’s live showmanship, Johnston was more impressed by what Jimi did in the studio, including his use of feedback and backwards recording.

It’s a given that Jimi’s music has influenced every generation who followed him; but he also influenced everyone playing rock music when he first hit the scene. Spectrum Road is a supergroup that features Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, who grew up listening to Jimi, and Jack Bruce, whose band Cream was already popular by the time Hendrix debuted.

Robert Lamm of Chicago tells CBS Local that his band was doing horn-based arrangements of Hendrix songs early on. Hendrix became a fan and supporter of the group, and when he expressed respect for Chicago’s late guitarist/leader Terry Kath, it meant a lot to the entire group.pr

Def Leppard recently spoke with CBS Local about Jimi Hendrix, and guitarist Phil Collen called him “the ultimate rock guitar player, the most amazing guitar player of all time.” Singer Joe Elliott, meanwhile, marveled at Hendrix’s abilities as a singer.

The Woodstock Music & Art Festival will be remembered for peace, love, great music and some “brown acid” the over half million in attendance were warned about. But something you might not have known is how much the performers were paid to appear at Woodstock.